It's You That I Need Page 5

  She moaned, lifted up on her toes and threaded her hands through his hair to pull him closer. His hands set a blaze as he caressed his way down her back, over her hips and up to her breasts.

  “I’ve missed you, Lissa,” he husked out, bending to trail kisses on the upper portion of her breast exposed above her tank top. “I want—”

  Melissa jumped and screamed at the loud popping sound and glass breaking. She felt herself being jerked down to the floor and landed hard on her back with Kyle’s solid weight on top of her.

  “Stay down,” he commanded.

  She had no idea how he accomplished it, but he moved them both to the other side of the kitchen and into the laundry room without leaving the floor.

  “Don’t move until I come back for you,” Kyle said, sliding off her and crawling across the kitchen floor.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To turn off the lights, call the police then see how our shooter likes being shot at.” He closed the door.

  Her heart pounded in fear. Did he have a gun? “Kyle,” she whispered harshly and poked her head out the door. “Kyle!” She shrank back and slammed the door as more shots exploded. Melissa pressed herself tightly against the wall, her body shaking uncontrollably. “Please don’t let him get hurt,” she muttered over and over. The kettle on the stove whistled, but she didn’t move. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the sound and didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she felt the tightness in her chest. Finally the shooting stopped. She listened for Kyle, but didn’t hear anything.

  After what seemed like hours, the kettle stopped and the door opened.

  “Melissa?”

  She sprang off the floor and into Kyle’s arms. “Oh, my God! Are you okay?” She ran her hands over his face and torso. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Kyle tightened his arms around her. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Pissed because the shooter got away, though.”

  Melissa leaned back and punched him in the chest. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again, Kyle Jamison! You could’ve been killed!”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “You do remember I used to be a cop, Lissa.”

  “I know, but—”

  “But nothing.”

  She stepped out of the laundry room and gasped. Her kitchen was a mess—broken glass everywhere, torn curtains and holes in the wall. She brought a hand to her mouth and stared in disbelief.

  The sounds of sirens flooded the neighborhood and she and Kyle went to open the door.

  Detective Miller was among the officers. “I see our suspect has graduated,” he said grimly.

  Melissa answered questions as best she could, and Kyle never left her side. As soon as the detective finished, she escaped to her bedroom. She sat on the side of the bed, buried her head in her hands and let the tears fall.

  Kyle came in a moment later and lowered himself next to her. He draped an arm around her shoulder and guided her head to his chest. “We’re going to find him, Melissa. I promise. I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

  She closed her eyes and listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart, grateful to have him near.

  ***

  Kyle’s heart continued to hammer in his chest as held Melissa close. That she could have been hurt or, worse, killed struck a fear inside him unlike anything he had ever encountered. A myriad of emotions swirled around in his gut—anger, apprehension and something stronger that he couldn’t put a finger on. Hearing her cry tore at his insides and he swore he’d make whoever was responsible pay.

  At length, Melissa sat up. She cupped his jaw and kissed him softly. “Thank you for being here, Kyle.”

  “I’ll always be here for you, Lissa Raye.”

  She smiled, rose to her feet and walked into the bathroom.

  The remnants of the sweet kiss echoed inside of him and caused his emotions to surge once again. No other woman affected him like she did. He needed to be with this woman like he needed to breathe and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Kyle pushed to his feet and went to find Carlos. He took a quick peek at his watch and pulled out his cell. Most likely, it would take the police a couple more hours to finish up, but they wouldn’t take care of the cleanup or the busted window. He didn’t want to leave Melissa alone to find a hardware store and decided to call Damian.

  “What’s up, bro?” Damian said when he answered.

  “Someone took shots at Melissa tonight and—”

  “What the hell? Is she all right?”

  “Yeah, but her kitchen windows aren’t.”

  Damian cursed. “Did they catch him?”

  “No. He was gone by the time I made it outside. The police are going to be here for a while and I need to board up those windows. But I don’t want to leave.”

  “I’ll get some plywood before the hardware store closes and bring it over.”

  “Thanks, man.” Kyle gave him a rough estimate of the window sizes.

  “How are you doing?”

  “Pissed. You know, when I was on the force and came up against a suspect, my first thought was always to preserve life. But, tonight, for the first time, I actually wanted to hurt someone. Melissa could’ve been shot or killed.” He paused to get his emotions under control. “Call me when you’re on your way.” Kyle heard Karen’s frantic voice in the background asking what happened and Damian trying to assure her that she didn’t need to drive over. “Tell Karen everything is okay.”

  “She’s not buying it. Baby,” Kyle heard Damian say, “Melissa is fine.” His groan came through the line. “Apparently you’re not capable of judging Melissa’s health status, so Karen’s coming with me,” Damian said resignedly.

  “I figured as much. I need to talk to the detective.”

  “If you need anything else before I get there, call me.”

  “Will do.” Kyle disconnected and continued to the front of the house. He caught Carlos’ gaze and the detective finished whatever he was saying to the officer and came toward Kyle. “Any luck?”

  “Aside from bullets and shells, we don’t have much. Neighbors didn’t see anything except a person running down the block. Because it’s dark, they weren’t able to say whether the person was male or female.”

  “Dammit!”

  “There were a few bullets lodged in the kitchen walls we had to cut around.”

  Kyle sighed heavily in understanding. In order to best preserve the evidence, officers often cut out a section of the material and submitted it to the firearms examiner for careful extraction. That meant Melissa had holes in her walls that needed to be replaced.

  “It might be better for Ms. Tucker to stay somewhere else for a few days.”

  “I agree. My business partner and his wife will be here later to help me board up the windows. And then we’ll be relocating.”

  Carlos nodded. “I’ll let the guys know. Hopefully, we’ll be done soon.” He nodded to another officer trying to get his attention and said, “Be right there.” He clapped Kyle on the shoulder. “We’ll talk again before I leave.”

  “Thanks, Carlos.” Kyle fished his cell out of his pocket and googled the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose. He, Damian and Troy had stayed there the last time they conducted a safety training workshop in the city and Kyle liked the hotel’s proximity to the many restaurants and activities. He figured Melissa wouldn’t be too happy about having to leave her home, but he didn’t want her to have constant reminders of what happened every time she walked into her kitchen and saw the boarded up windows and holes in her walls. And, he wanted to make it harder for whoever had done this to get to her. They’d be safer in the hotel. He completed the reservation and pocketed the cell. Then went to break the news to Melissa.

  As Kyle predicted she was not happy.

  Melissa threw up her hands. “This is insane. I don’t want to leave my house, Kyle.”

  “I know, but it’s just for a few days.”

  “What about the windows? I can’t just leave them like that.”

  “Damian is bringing over some plywood and we’re going to board them up for now.” He would ask Damian to suggest someone reputable to fix the damage when he and Karen arrived.

  She nodded and wrapped her arms around her middle. “How long will I have to stay?”

  “We’ll stay until the end of the week, then see.” He crossed the room to where she stood and circled his arms around her waist. “I know this isn’t what you want, but it’ll be safer with all the hotel security.”

  “I understand. Where are we staying?”

  “At the Fairmont downtown.”

  “Okay. Let me pack. I’ll need to take my work stuff, too.”

  “Do you need me to help you with anything?”

  “No, but thanks.”

  Kyle placed a tender kiss on her forehead, released her and headed for the door. “Be back in a bit. Oh, Karen is coming, too.”

  “She shouldn’t be coming over here this late. She needs to rest.”

  “Damian and I tried to explain that, but I guess she wants to see for herself that you’re okay.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “That girl. It won’t take me long to get my stuff together.”

  “Take your time. I have a feeling they’re going to be here a while longer.”

  Kyle went to re-pack his bag. He made a mental note to call Troy in the morning to let Troy know he might not be back on Sunday as planned. He had never expected things to escalate to this level and he vowed to protect Melissa. With his life, if necessary.

  Chapter 6

  An hour later, as the police were wrapping up, Kyle stood outside in the driveway talking to Carlos.

  “If anything shows up, I’ll let you know. And if you hear anything or Ms. Tucker remembers something, give me a call.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Oh, I forgot to mention that Mr. Brown is still in lockup. Sounds like he’s going to be doing a little time since this wasn’t his first go around.”

  Kyle glanced over and saw Damian and Karen coming up the street. With all the police and crime scene investigators vehicles, they had to park a few houses away. He waved them over and made introductions.

  “Where’s Melissa? Is it okay for me to go inside now?” Karen asked, her anxiety clearly evident.

  “They’re all done in the house, so you’re free to enter,” the detective answered.

  Kyle excused himself and escorted them into the house. They found Melissa standing in the kitchen seemingly staring into space.

  Karen stepped into the kitchen and her loud gasp pierced the silence. “Oh. My. God.” She rushed over to Melissa.

  Melissa spun around just as Karen grabbed her up in a crushing hug. “Hey.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not hurt, if that’s what you’re asking. Hey, Damian.”

  Damian hugged her. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “Thanks,” Melissa whispered as her eyes filled with tears.

  Kyle moved to her side and draped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, baby. Don’t worry about all this. I’ll take of the mess.” He led her to the living room and gestured her to the sofa. Damian and Karen followed. Karen took a seat next to Melissa and ran a comforting hand up and down Melissa’s back. “Damian and I are going to get those windows boarded up and then we’ll head over to the hotel.” He followed Damian out to the car to get the wood.

  Damian opened the hatch of the Acura SUV. “I didn’t know what kind of tools Melissa had, so I brought nails and a couple of hammers.”

  “Good.” He slid out one of the sheets of plywood. “Karen’s going to make a great mother. How do you feel about becoming a father?”

  “I can’t wait to see my little son or daughter.” Damian grabbed the other sheet, the bag with the tools and closed the hatch, locking it by remote. “You know, you’re almost thirty-seven,” he said as they walked back. “Maybe you ought to think about settling down yourself. It would be a shame to watch you trying to toss a football to your son from your wheelchair.”

  “Shut the hell up. I asked you to help fix a window, not give out life advice.”

  Damian laughed. “Just sayin’.”

  Kyle never thought he would have the patience to settle down with one woman because he could see himself getting bored easily. But, since being with Melissa, he realized that it wasn’t that he bored easily, it was just that he had never met the right woman. Even long distance, he never felt the restlessness that usually plagued him after a couple of months of with the same woman.

  The officers had finally packed up and left, which freed them to quickly board up the two windows. Afterwards, they went inside and swept up the glass. When they’d patched up everything as best they could, it was well after midnight. But Kyle sensed the night wouldn’t be an easy one.

  ***

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Karen asked.

  Melissa gave her a weak smile. “Still a little shook up, but yeah, I’m okay. I just can’t believe this is happening. I’ve been doing this for almost a decade and have run up on some crazy folks, but this?” She shook her head. “I don’t get it. Jamie wasn’t even removed from the home, he’s back at school and I haven’t gone to their house, so why? It freaks me out to know he’s been following me and knows where I live.” She was angry, frustrated and scared that someone would go to such lengths to “warn” her off.

  “I don’t know, Melissa. I remember Mr. Nelson being somewhat of a hothead, but I never thought he’d do something like this.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “So, what are you going to do? You can’t stay here. Why don’t you guys come stay with us? You can take the extra bedroom and Kyle can have the sleeper sofa, unless… you two are sharing.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but Kyle made reservations at the Fairmont. And, no, we aren’t sharing.”

  Karen leaned back and lifted an eyebrow. “Really? So, he’s been sleeping…”

  “In my spare bedroom.”

  “You sound disappointed.”

  “Well, yes, I mean no.” Melissa sighed in frustration. “I’m not disappointed because I told you I don’t want to fall back into just sleeping together.” Okay that wasn’t exactly true.

  “Wow, I can’t believe he hasn’t even attempted to get back with you.”

  “He’s kissed me, but it’s almost like he doesn’t want to, either,” she said thoughtfully. Each time they kissed, Kyle always stopped before things got serious. But, then he’d made that comment in her office about taking her on the table. So she really didn’t know what he was thinking.

  “You want to know what I think?”

  Melissa rolled her eyes. “Not really, but I’m sure that won’t stop you.”

  Karen laughed. “Correct. Kyle hopped on the first plane coming this way when you called. I’ve been watching him and I noticed something different from the last time you two were together. He’s a lot more possessive, tender and caring. Not like a booty call. He looks at you a lot like Damian looked at me when he first said he loved me.”

  She snorted. “Girl, please. You’re way off base. Mr. Bachelor will be buried with his playa card.”

  “How much do you want to bet? Were you not paying attention to how he was touching you in the kitchen? I don’t care how good the sex is, no man is going to go through all this trouble if he doesn’t love you or is falling in love. Now, he might not say it right away, but mark my words he will.”

  “I think those pregnancy hormones are going to your brain. I’m not saying he doesn’t care—he’s always shown concern—but love? Definitely not.” The hammering she heard coming from her kitchen attested to the fact that he cared, but she held no illusions that he might love her.

  Karen stuck out her hand. “I bet you those Bandolino boots we saw when we went shopping that Kyle is in love with you.”

  Melissa stared at Karen as if she’d lost her mind.

  “What? You scared you’re going to lose?”

  “I’m not scared at all.” She shook Karen’s hand. “I can’t wait to wear my new boots.”

  “In your dreams, sister. Those boots will be mine. Merry Christmas to me,” she sang.

  “Whatever. I won’t deny that the chemistry is still there, but nothing’s going to come from it, except maybe one last night of… well you know… Just to get it out of our systems.”

  “You mentioned he made reservations at the hotel. One room or two?”

  “Um… I don’t know.” She hadn’t asked, but she couldn’t see him getting two rooms with that steep price. The thought that they might be sharing a room made her pulse race.

  “Ooh wee!” Karen rubbed her hands together and let out a little squeal. “I wear a size eight. I’m sure you’ll find some nice wrapping paper, but I’m partial to the blue and silver.”

  Melissa folded her arms. “I think it’s time for you to go home. You are up way past your bedtime.” As soon as she finished her statement, Kyle poked his head into the room.

  “We’re about done, so if you want to get your stuff, we’ll head out as soon as I take this last bag out.”

  “Thank goodness,” she muttered. She stood and pointed at Karen. “You’d better not say anything while I’m gone.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Karen said with feigned innocence. She shooed Melissa. “Go. You don’t want to keep your man waiting. I’ll be waiting to hear the details on how you slept in ‘separate beds’ tomorrow.” She made quote marks in the air.

  Melissa ignored her and went to get her small suitcase. The silly conversation with Karen had taken her mind off the drama surrounding her life for a few minutes. But, standing in her room now, the reality that she had to leave her home came back in full force. What if he came back while she was away? Exactly how long was this going to last? And how long would Kyle stay? He said he wouldn’t leave until they caught the man, but that could take weeks. He had his own job and she knew he probably had an upcoming training session somewhere. She didn’t know what she’d do if he had to leave before the police caught this person. Melissa pushed the frightening notion away and picked up her tote bag. She checked to ensure she had everything she needed for work. Satisfied, she took one more cursory glance around the room and grabbed the suitcase handle.